Plane makes landing on Interstate 89 in New London

A small private plane made a successful emergency landing on Interstate 89 in New London late Sunday afternoon.

The plane took off from the Newport airfield, said Sgt. William Graham of the New Hampshire State Police, and it experienced a mechanical issue while in flight. The pilot, 65-year-old John Principe of Washington, landed between exits 11 and 12 on the northbound side of the highway about 5 p.m. and pulled into the breakdown lane.

There was one other person on board, 66-year-old Karl Kloeppel of Newport, and there were no injuries or damage reported. Traffic at the time was light.

Eventually, Graham said, the pilot was able to taxi the plane to Exit 12 and off the highway to the New London recycling station. The plane’s wings were removed and it was taken by trailer back to the airfield.

The plane landed just north of a highway crossover, where a state trooper was monitoring traffic. “I said to him, ‘That’ll probably be a one and only in your career,’” New London police Chief Edward Andersen said.

The plane was a Skyhawk, also known as a Cessna 172, a four-seat, single-propeller airplane.